Paper-sheet-feeding machine



lub/3,192.3. 1,460,376I

F. R. HARTMAN PAPER SHEET FEEDING MACHINE Filed sept., so. 1920 sheets-sheet 1 Juny 3, 1923. 1,460,376

F. R. HARTMAN PAPER SHEET FEEDNG MACHINE Filed Sept. 30. 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented July 3, 1923.

unirse stares PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK R. KARTE/IAN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

PAPER-SHEET-FEEDING MACHINE.

Application filed September 30, 1920. Serial No. 413,859.

sheets one at a timey from a pile or collec` `tion and feeding the successively separate sheets to suitable receiving means as the receiving or feed table of a printing press, or similar mechanism.

The invention is particularly adapted to feeding single sheets successively to aprinting press although it is obvious that it may be adapted to a variety of analogous purposes as common in the art of sheet feeding.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the following description taken in connection with the dra-wings forming a part of the specification all of which depict the preferred embodiment of my invention.

In the said drawings, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of my improved paperA feeding device showing the same locatedadjacent there ceiving table at the feeding end of a printing press or analogous machine.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation view of the machine of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail view of `one of the wiper or feeding arms, and Fig. l is a perspective View showing a detail of one of the follower guides of the sheet feed mechanism.

The machine may conveniently be sup ported upon framework such as the uprights 10, 11, two of which are shown on one side of the machine in Fig. 1, the two uprights at the delivery end of the machine being each designated by the reference character 10 and the two uprights at the receiving end of the machine by 11. 'The uprights' 10, 11'

are preferably slotted as indicated at 10, 11a, said slots extending in a vertical direction for. receiving suitable lugs or projections, as indicated at 12, 13 for serving as a guide for the bottom plate of the sheet mechanism,rwhichfis designated generally j by reference character 14. The upper eX- tremities of the uprights 10, 11 are joined by suitable bars as indicated by reference character 15, Fig. 1, and from the bar 15 which forms a support for the top of the sheet mechanism the uprights 16, 17 extend on each side of the machine to furnish a support for the paper feed mechanism, which is accomplished by connecting the tops of uprights 16, 17 with the side bars 18, 19, the latter being allowed to extend beyond the delivery end of the mechanism and there joined to the elongated vertical supports 20, 21 which extend thence downwardly and may be anchored to the floor or other support where the machine is installed. The bottom Vplate 14 of the sheet containing mechanism designed to receive the sheets of material in stacks with the plane of each sheet in a substantially vertical relation is specially constructed so that not only will `the mechanism receive sheets of a great variety of dimensions as to both length and width but that the movement of the sheets within the mechanism may be facilitated and the feeding therefrom therefore expedited. The lugs 12, 13 on each side of the adjustable bottom plate 14 of the mechanism will guide the bottom plate in its vertical adjustments and the mechanism provided for supporting the plate 14E consists of the vertical threaded shafts 22, 23 which are journalled in suitable supports or bearings 24, 25 on the uprights 10 and are screw threaded threaded sockets 26, 27 adjacent each of the VOfuide lugs 12 and 13 on the bottom plate 14. t will be observed that there are two of the threaded shafts 22, 23 at each side of the machine, one adjacent each of the vertical uprights 10 and 11 and there are of course correspondingly threaded connections between the bottom plate of the mechanism and each of these screw threaded shafts so that as each of the four shafts are rotated the bottom plate of the mechanism will be in correspondingly caused to elevate or depress as the lugs 12,

13 slide in the guide slots of the uprights 10 and 11. Such adjustment will be under the control of the operator through the han1 dle or crank 28 j ournalled in the upright 10 and carrying a bevelled gear 29 meshing' `with bevel gear 8O on one of the shafts 22,

as illustrated in` Fig. 2 and also-with bevel gear 31 on the short shaft 32. the latter carrying a bevel gear 33 which meshes with bevel gear 34- on a shaft 35 which eX- tends transversely across the machine frame at the bottom and carries at its `opposite eX- tremity a bevel gear 36 meshing with bevel gear 37 on shaft 23 so that whenever the crank 28 is operated and shaft 22 caused to rotate there will be a corresponding rota.- tion of the shaft 23 on the opposite side of the machine as seen by an inspection of the mechanism in Fig. 2. At the same time from yinspection of the mechanism of Fig. l, it `will be ,seen that all four =of `fthe vertically rotated shafts 22, 23 will Vbe synchronously operated as there are similar connections between each of the four shafts and the shaft 22,'which is operated bythe crank 2S so :that any rotation applied to the shaft 22 will be synchronously applied -to .each iof the four shafts and by reason of their threaded connections with bottom plate 11i of the `mechanism the same will be cau-sed .to be shifted vertically according to the 4direction of rotationv of zthe mechanism thus adapting the mechanism to handle sheets of any desired height, since the top plate of the mechanism is vnon-adjustable, the same being `designated by reference character' 35, Fig. 2.

An inspection of Fig. 1 will disclose that the shafts 4:0, of which there wilil be two, one at each .side of the machine, form a con-nection .together with suitable bevelled gears for rotating the vertical shafts 22, 23 at the feeding lend of the machine, as described.

ldlhen the sheet containing mechanism 4or magazine -is supplied with sheets .in vertical relation, as designated by the :reference character 45, Fig. l, it is the function of the machine that the sheets will be taken one at a time and fed upwardly .and turned to the horizontalposition and laid flat upon :the receiving itable v50 at the discharge end of the device. 'To accomplish this result l journal in the upright bars 20,21 lof the frame a shaft designated by refe-rence character `and I attach to this shaftfixedly so as to rotate therewith one'or more suitable wiper or feeding arms as designated by reference character 71. These arms are of special construction being provided with a hub poiu .tion adapted to receive the shaft 70 to which it will be secured by suitable means as the set screw 72. rllhe arm 71 may be provided userof suitable elastic material asa relatively firm piece of rubber, as indicated by reference character 76. The part 76 may be made of a relativelysolid or non-.perforated piece of vulcanized rubber, the same to be positioned between the outside layers, as indicated at 77, 7 8. The latter` may conveniently be formed of vulcanized sponge rubber or rubber vulcanized into a spongy or porous condition, of which there are at the present time a number of varieties on the open marlet known either as sponge rubber or as rubber Sponges but a quality of sponge rubber in which the common gas cells are broken down during the heat of vulcanization, is to be preferred as-of about lthe proper consistency for forming the lamina or projections 77, 78. For example, ythe parts 77, 7S 4might be cut from vsheets of sponge rubber such as commonly used at the present time as .a cushioning or backing for rubber hand stamps. When the wiping :or brush end Aof the arm 7l is filled with rubber Lof uthe character described it will be seen that the inner portion 76 will be sufficiently .firm to insure that the sheet will `be moved while .the pressure of the more resilient parts 77, 7 8 will insure a contact and grip on the ,paper that will prevent slipping and materially aid the grip of the interior portion 76,. There Amay be as many of the wiper -or feeding arms 71 supplied on shaft 70 as are found desirable or necessary. By providing feedings arms, as described, I obtain a varying pressure on the foremost or the sheet to be lifted from the magazine by the wiper, the maximum lof resistance being obtained at the moment the wiper arm reaches a horizontal vposition in its revolution .about lthe axis of shaft 17'.

ln the operation of the -machine power will be supplied to the .shaft 70 from any suitable source, as for example the motor 90 and the driving belt 91 connecting the driving pulley 92 yon -t'he inotor with the pulley 93 on shaft 70.. `YWhen rotation from motor 90 or other suitable source of power supply is imparted to shaft 7 O and it is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow (Fig. l) the feeding devices 76 to 78 inclusive Yon arm or arms 7l it will be seen will contact with the innermost sheet .in the magazine with the result that such sheet will be separated from its contiguous sheet in the magazine and will be vertically raised and caused to contact with .the feed rolls 9a, 95 which impinge upon each other and whose axial shafts' 96, 97 are preferably located in the same horizontal plane so .that as these impinging rollers are rotated in la .direction which will be indicated the arrows on the driving chain 98 the single sheet A having its upper edge following along the concave `side of the deiiector' Vblades ork hars 99. The latter may be formed of a single A 2, with the result that as the feed rolls 94,

95 continue to act upon thezsingle sheets the upper edge of each sheet will conform to the j concave guiding surface of the guide or guides and be gradually deiiected toward the horizontal receiving platform `50 so that the forward edge of the sheet as it passes from the guides will enter and be impinged between the co-acting feed rolls 100, 101, the

direction of rotation of which -will be seen by noting the direction of the arrows on the chain 102 and from which it will be seen that the rolls 100 and 101 will be eective to feed each sheet singly from the preceding feeding and guiding mechanism and deliver it flat upon the receiving platform 50 whence it may be manipula-ted further in any desired' manner as by the automatic feeding mechanism of a printing press or other mechanism.

It is preferred that the sheet holding magazine consisting of the bottom plate 14 and parts related thereto be slightly inclined downwardly from the receiving to ward the discharge end thereof as plainly shown in Fig. 1, and that the top guides 15 thereof be likewise inclined to preserve the parallel relation.l Suitable guide mechanism at the discharge end of the magazine may be provided `for preventing the collec.r

tion ofsheets within the magazine from` falling therefrom and these guides which are shown in Figs. l and 2 and designated by' reference characters 110, 111 will pref! erably have vertical ribs deflected inwardly a short distance to co-operate with the lateral side edges of the sheets and there will j be openings or slots between the eXtremij j ties of the top bar 15 and the vertical projections on the guides 110, 130 as indicated at 112, Fig. 1, to permit the sheets from the magazine to readily pass upwardly into contact with the feeding rolls and the guide plates 99. l/Vhen the sheets are placed in the vertical position in the magazine as illustrated for example in Fig. 1 it is de-` sirable that there be follower means to retain the sheets in the vertical position during the feeding movement from the stack or collection therein. The operation of such follower means will be expedited by reason of the forward inclination of the magazine and the bottom plate 14 may be provided with suitable grooves as indicated by reference character 14L so that anti-fric tion rollers 120 on follower blocks 121 may of the standards 122 will be desirable by reason of the adjustable nature of the sheet magazine both as to height and width. The adjustment of the height of the magazine has been described. The adjustment as to width may be obtained by means of the longitudinal division plate shown in end elevation in Fig.f2 and designated by reference character 130. This may be made in two telescoping parts as indicated by referi encecharacter 130a and130b Fig. 1, the former being provided with slots, as in-` dicated at `131, 132, co-operating with suitable locking devices as the threaded winged nuts 133, 134 on the plate 1303. rlhe last said plates obviously voverlap and when the locking devices are loosed permit of the adjustment between the top and bottom plates of the magazine while this composite division plate obviously moves as an en tirety between the top and bottom projec tions of thejmagazine in varying the distance between the same and its co-operating side wall ofthe magazine. It will be noted that the vertical uprights 16 of the main frame and the upright supports 20', 21 are spaced apart by the top side barsy 18 and 19. This construction provides a convenient means for alsov anchoring between these same parts the diagonal bracket members 140 (Fig. 1) of which there is one at each side of the frame, joined at the bottom by the two` connections 141, extending thence forwardly and connecting with the uprights 20, 21 and furnishing means for supporting the bearing of the initial pair of feed rollers 94, 95 as well as the curved guide bars or .bladesl 99.

A paper sheet feeding device constructed in accordance `with the principles of my inventionhas certain improved features not found in previous devices as the relations of the parts as described are such that the sheets will betaken from the forward end of the stack or collection singly with unfailing precision and feed upwardly without disturbing any other sheet in the stack and will be laid flat upon the receiving table in condition for successive manipulation so thaty the mechanism of the invention may be relied upon to function continuouslyv without any` attention other than to keep the magazine supplied with sheets.` The position of the magazine and the arrangement of the sheets therein together with the follower mechanism and the direction offeed areall such that the feeding willk be uniform whether the magazine is completely filled or contains only a relativelv few sheets.

In order that the invention might be understood l have shown the details of the embodiment of the invention that has been found most successful and that is preferred by mer It is however, not desired to be limited to the details as herein shown except as defined in the claims since it will be apparent that 1persons skilled in the art may resort te various modifications without departing from lthe purpose and spirit o-f my invention.

l claim:

l. The combination in a paper feeding machine of a magazine adapted to receivea plurality of sheets iu an approximately vertical position, the said mechanism comprising a fixed top member, a bottom member held in spaced relation and approximately parallel to said top member, moans for ad*` ju'sting the relation of said bottom member to said top member, `a paper guide at the forward or delivery end of said magazine, a paper wiping or feeding device consisting of a resilient cushion carried at the free end of an arm moving at an angle to the plane of the foremost sheet in the magazine, a pair of impinging rolls located immediately above the shee'tguiding means in the magazine whereby to receive a single sheet elevated by the feeding means from the delivery end of the magazine, curved guide adjacent the said impinging feed rol-ls adaptedto receive the forwardy edge of a sheet fed therefrom and to deflect the same from a substantially vertical to a substantially horizontal position, a second pair of impingingfeed rolls adapted to receive the forward edge of a sheet from. the delivery end of said curved guide member and to feed thesaine therefrom in a. substantially horizontal position, and means for operating said impingi'ng rolls and said paper feeding or wiping device in substantial synchronisin.

2. ln a paper feeding device, the combi- A`ation with a magazine adapted to receive a collection of sheets of paper of a feed-ing or wiping device adapted to engage the foremost sheet 'in the magazine and to slide 'the "saine therefrom in substantially the plane of the assembled sheets in the magazine, the said feeding or wiping devicecoinprising an arm having one end thereof moving at an angle to the normal plane of the sheets in the magazine and being provided with a socket, and a resilient feeding device in said socket com arisinfr a member of relativel firm. resilient material, and a member formed of relatively soft resilient material, the said members being so arranged in the said socket of the feeding device that the relatively soft member will engage the sheet in advance Vof the yengagement thereof by the relatively firm resilient member.

i 3. ln a paper feeding device the combination with a magazine adapted to cont-ain a collection of sheets of a feeding device or wiper arm having a socket at one end thereof adapted to be rotated in the arc of a circle which shall intersect the plane of the foremost sheet in the magazine, there being in the said socket a frictional means comprising a mem-ber of relatively firm resilient material together with members on each Side of the aforesaid member formed of relatively soft resilient material, the arrangement of 'the said members in. the socket of the feeding arm being such that as the socket end thereof moves in the are of a circle intersecting the plane of the foremost sheet in the magazine tiie Vcushioning member of the feeding device will first engage the sheet in advance of the relatively firm me nber thereof, and at the conclusion of the feeding stroke the relatively firm member will release its hold upon the paper as it leaves the magazine in advance of the release therefrom by the layer of cushioning material on the reverse vside of the feeding device.

il. The combination with a magazine or paper holding device adapted to receive a plurality of sheets in approximately vertical position, of a rotatable shaft, a feed arm rigidly aflixed to said shaft and adapted to rotate therewith, aresilientwiper carried by 'the outer end of said arm, said wiper being adapted to contact with the `foremost sheet in said magazine and exert thereon a graduated and upward pressure and being` adapted to make but a single 'contact with each successive' sheet upon each successive complete rotation of the said feed arm and shaft, a pair of feed rolls adapted to receive a sheet acted upon by the feed arm in an approximately vertical position, a second pair of feed rolls adapted to receive a sheet from the aforesaid feed rolls, and to feed the said sheet in an approximately horizontal direction, and a guide between said pairs of feed rolls adapted to .change the path offtravel of a sheet fed therethrough from an approximately vertical to an' approximately horizontal direction.

ln testimony whereof l have signed my name tothis specification, on this lst day of September', A. l). 1920.

FRANK R. HARTMAN. 

